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Blue Sheen is a blackened navy blue with a blue and violet sheen when applied dry, and it takes on a much bolder, brighter midnight blue with a slightly metallic sheen when applied wet. This is the kind of blue MAC has released several times in the past. It is very comparable to Inglot #428 and Make Up For Ever #308, while it is deeper than MAC Deep Truth. Make Up For Ever #81 is very similar to the dry swatch. It is deeper and has a richer blue than MAC Blue Flame or MAC She Who Dares.

Clarity is a barely-there green-tinged gray with flecks of green and gold shimmer-sparkle when applied dry. It’s not very useful when applied dry–there is just so little color payoff. When applied wet, it’s a deeper charcoal gray with green and gold shimmer and slightly metallic sheen. The most comparable shade I could think of was Inglot #444, but it’s browner and has no real green shimmer/sparkle.

Golden Gaze is a dark, molten gold with a black base peeking through. It’s very similar in color whether used dry or wet, and when used dry, it still has fantastic color payoff. It tends to bind better and therefore have a smoother, more metallic sheen when applied wet. Urban Decay Rush is a little bronzer, less gold. I saw some readers mention Giorgio Armani Khaki Pulse, but this is nothing like it. It has some of the same qualities as Make Up For Ever #148, but it is deeper, darker, richer. This is one of the standout shades of the nine I’ve seen. It’s most comparable to MAC Gilt by Association, but it has a stronger gold sheen and a much smoother texture.

Hint of Sapphire is a sheer purple-casted gray with multi-colored flecks of shimmer when used dry. Like Clarity, there really isn’t much to it when used dry. When applied wet, it is a deeper silvered gray with a purple cast and teal and copper shimmer. I found it applied a bit unevenly, though. It’s a darker version of the purple side of MAC Midnight Madness, while MAC Polar Opposites is less silvery but rather similar in color. Inglot #434 is very similar, without the multi-colored shimmer, while Giorgio Armani #1 does it better with more dimension that actually translates on the eye (and far better color payoff).

Every year, I fall prey to mineralize eyeshadows. Truly, I do. They always look spectacular in their pots, but I’m nearly always disappointed with the actual end results. I wish I could say I was really impressed by these, but overall, they’re decent to good, but they’re not the best eyeshadow I’ve ever used. Whenever I use mineralize eyeshadows wet, they do dry down to a color that’s in-between the dry and wet swatches. The majority do not retain the dimension, color payoff, or finish of the wet swatch after an hour or two. It’s not like the go from hero to zero, but it’s not quite the same.

I did two separate eye looks so I could test more eyeshadows within the same time span. I wore Jade’s Fortune, Golden Gaze, and Smoked Ruby on one eye with Hint of Sapphire and Blue Sheen on the other eye. After three hours, everything looked a little faded, with Hint of Sapphire being the biggest culprit. I also had a fair amount of fall out, and for me, the fall out was more annoying than the fading. The fading was noticeable to me, but it wasn’t over-the-top and it didn’t get much worse by the eighth hour. One possible method to combat some of the fall out of these is to use a stickier base (I used Urban Decay’s Eden) or when using them wet, wet with MAC’s Mixing Medium.

With mineralize eyeshadows, I think it’s appropriate to expect that color payoff will tend to be sheerer/softer and overall less intense compared to when they are used wet or damp. (On the other hand, the majority of MAC’s Mineralize Eyeshadows have decent color payoff when used dry.) However, Clarity and Hint of Sapphire are barely showing up when used dry. Over an eyeshadow base, Hint of Sapphire came together a little better but still needed to be packed on. On pigmentation, Clarity would earn 4 and 10 (dry/wet), so an average of 7, while Hint of Sapphire would earn 4 and 7.5 (dry/wet), so an average of 5.75. Both Blue Sheen and Golden Gaze would earn 10s across the board, which ends up with an average for the four at 8.2, which I rounded up to 8.5, because two of these are exceptionally well-pigmented. I chose to round-up because these are on the edge of C+/B- as an overall rating, and I don’t think these are bad enough to earn a C+.

MAC continues to improve the overall formula of their mineralize eyeshadows each year, and I think picking up some of the more exceptional/complex shades may be worth it, these don’t out-perform your regular pressed powder eyeshadows to make the price tag for “baked” worth it. I found the majority of these to be too marbled to use shades individually, so I only used them mixed.

The Glossover

Of these four, Blue Sheen and Golden Gaze are the best bets; Blue Sheen is more easily duped, while Golden Gaze may be harder--it also seems a little more complex. As much as I like the concept of Hint of Sapphire, I find it one of the worst in terms of quality. Clarity at least works when used wet.

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Where to Buy

This product can be purchased at the following retailers:

MAC Cosmetics, July 7th, $20.00 each

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

Tarte for True Blood Collection

tarte™ for True Blood™ limited-edition collection is available now on sephora.com! Additionally, it will be available for retail on 6/29 at tarte.com and store.hbo.com; as well as in mid-July at Sephora Stores and Ulta/Ulta.com.

340 is a deep, dark blackened teal with a matte finish (but I swear, there were very tiny particles of micro-shimmer throughout — I swatched all of Inglot’s mattes first, so there was no residual shimmer from previous swatches).

338 is a darkened cornflower blue with a matte finish.

389 is a blackened blue with a hint of purple with a matte finish. This shade was a little sheer and harder to work with.

321 is a dark, purple-blue with a matte finish. Like #340, it seems like it has a little bit of micro-shimmer.

These are really soft mattes; they have a really buttery feel to them, where you can feel the powder loosening as you swatch. They aren’t particularly powdery, though they’ll kick up a little dust if you are heavy handed with your brush. A little product goes a long way, so there’s no reason to jab at the eyeshadow with a brush (something you might have done with past matte eyeshadows). The softness and give allow these to apply smoothly and evenly; there is no patchiness or drag with these. The only downside to these is if you really pack on the color, you might find that it fades (ever-so-marginally) after eight hours; it’s a very minimal drawback, resulting in 0.5 point reduction in longevity.

#345 and #389 were on the sheerer side, with #345 being more noticeably sheer than #389, but #389 was harder to work with as it had a drier texture and dragged a bit when swatched. I think it would be fine in practice, given it still has good (just not great) color payoff.

Where to Buy

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Swatches (Part 2)

Here are ten more Urban Decay Eyeshadow Swatches! The Swatch Galleryis really starting to come together, and just seeing all of the swatches show up makes all of the re-swatching completely worth it.

Aquarius is a muted blue with a gray overcast and frosted sheen.

Blaze is lightened coppery brown with a soft, metallic sheen.

Blunt is a medium golden yellow with a soft, frosted finish.

Chronic is a medium-dark grass green with subtly cool undertones and a matte finish.

Ecstasy is a medium-dark violet purple with a soft sheen.

Electric is a bright, cyan blue with a matte finish.

Fishnet is a fuchsia pink with purple iridescence. This is a deluxe eyeshadow.

Freakshow is a deep, dark purple with subtle red undertones and a pearly finish. This is a deluxe eyeshadow.

Frigid is a dark, blue-purple with a pearly finish. This is a deluxe eyeshadow.

Gash is a coppered red with a soft, frosted finish.

Urban Decay Eyeshadows are some of my favorites–they are typically very pigmented, smooth, buttery, and blendable. The only shades to watch for are any that have the word “glitter” or “sparkle” in the description, because they tend to have a micro-glitter that just doesn’t bind with the color base, which means it either disappears between brush and lid (best case scenario) or you end up with a sparkly under eye (worst case scenario). Their matte finishes are soft and finely milled, but a note on application, these are so blendable that it’s easy to overdo it.

Ecstasy was the biggest miss here–it’s a little sheer and soft, you just can’t get as much color out of it as you should. Frigid also seems to be lacking some color payoff, but it isn’t as sheered out as Ecstasy. If you’re looking for more Urban Decay swatches, you can check out our full Urban Decay Eyeshadow Swatch Gallery!

Where to Buy

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

Temptalia Swatch Gallery – Beta Release

Late last night, we officially launched a beta of our swatch gallery! The idea around the gallery is inspired by something I’ve personally longed for: a way to easily find dupes for you! Some kind of archive or catalog that I can easily reference and look through for comparable colors when new releases come out.

With that in mind, the gallery actually allows you to drag and move the photos around, so you can make your own side-by-side comparisons. If you’re interested in more photos of the product or want to see the review, simply click on the image and you’ll be taken to the original post the image appeared in.

Right now, we only have swatches for comparison of nail polishes, but we will steadily be adding additional product categories, such as lips, eyes, and cheeks. There are still a couple of features and things to add, too. I hope this will help you as much as I know it will help me!